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. 2023 Jun 1;12(6):998.
doi: 10.3390/antibiotics12060998.

Impact of Mt. Olympus Honeys on Virulence Factors Implicated in Pathogenesis Exerted by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Eleni Tsavea  1 , Paraskevi Tzika  1 , Eleni Katsivelou  1 , Anna Adamopoulou  1 , Marios Nikolaidis  2 , Grigorios D Amoutzias  2 , Dimitris Mossialos  1
Affiliations

Impact of Mt. Olympus Honeys on Virulence Factors Implicated in Pathogenesis Exerted by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Eleni Tsavea et al. Antibiotics (Basel). .

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of twenty honey samples, harvested in Mt. Olympus (Greece), on the virulence factors implicated in P. aeruginosa pathogenesis. Six key virulence factors (protease and elastase activity, pyocyanin and pyoverdine concentration, biofilm formation, and swimming motility) were selected in order to assess the effect of the tested honeys compared with Manuka honey. All tested honeys demonstrated a significant inhibition of protease and elastase activity compared with the control. Six and thirteen honeys exerted superior protease (no inhibition zone) and elastase (values lower than 55%) activity, respectively, compared with Manuka honey. Seventeen tested honeys exhibited reduced pyoverdine production compared with the control; all tested honeys, except for one, showed an inhibitory effect on pyocyanin production compared with the control. Regarding swimming motility, nine tested honeys demonstrated significantly higher inhibition compared with Manuka honey. Honey concentrations (6% v/v and 8% v/v) had the most profound impact, as they reduced biofilm formation to less than 20% compared with the control. Overall, our data demonstrate a significant inhibition of the virulence factors in the tested Mt. Olympus honeys, highlighting the strong antimicrobial activity against P. aeruginosa, an antibiotic-resistant pathogen of growing concern, which is implicated in severe nosocomial infections globally.

Keywords: Mt. Olympus; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; biofilm; elastase; honey; honey bee products; motility; pyoverdine; virulence factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Impact of honeys on protease activity of P. aeruginosa. Each honey was compared against the control, and statistically significant differences are shown with an asterisk (*).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Inhibition of P. aeruginosa elastase activity by honeys. Each honey was compared against the control, and statistically significant differences are shown with an asterisk (*).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Impact of honeys on pyoverdine production in P. aeruginosa. Each honey was compared against the control, and statistically significant differences are shown with an asterisk (*).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Impact of honeys on pyocyanin production in P. aeruginosa. Each honey was compared against the control, and statistically significant differences are shown with an asterisk (*).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effect of honeys on swimming motility of P. aeruginosa. Each honey was compared against the control, and statistically significant differences are shown with an asterisk (*).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effect of honey samples 1, 3, and 17 on biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa. Each honey was compared against the control, and statistically significant differences are shown with an asterisk (*).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Effect of honey samples 18, 19, and 20 on biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa. Each honey was compared against the control, and statistically significant differences are shown with an asterisk (*).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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